QUANTUM: Rock of Ages #1 - Page 04

DreamchildNYC on Sept. 24, 2006

PAGE FOUR (five panels)

Panel 1. Outside shot of “Tastee-tunes,” a combination record-store/restaurant in the East Village of Manhattan. There’s a neon sign nearby that reads, “Tastee-tunes, Food for your ears.”

CAPTION: HERE. NOW.

NICK (OP): NO, I DON’T HAVE ANY KAJA-FUCKIN’-GOO-GOO!

Panel 2. Inside shot of NICK’S establishment. The room is laid out in a circle. Toward the front, lining half the room are old-school 50’s diner booths. The dining area is quaint, but functional. The back wall is plastered with shelves of 12” vinyl. In front of those are bins full of CD’s. To one side is the kitchen, to the other, the entrance. There is a combination sales station/DJ rig smack-dab in the center of the place. There are various posters of our modern pop culture littering the walls as well. A few people are dining at various tables, and one or two people are going through the CD bins. NICK is going off on a tirade in front of a meek-looking customer.

CUSTOMER: ANYTHING ELSE FROM THE EIGHTIES?

NICK: OH, GREAT. WHAT IS IT WITH THE HUMAN PRE-OCCUPATION TO CONTINUALLY DREDGE UP RELICS FROM TWENTY YEARS PREVIOUS?

Panel 3. Closer on NICK and his victim. Customers in the restaurant are beginning to turn their heads to witness NICK’S verbal lynching.

NICK: DON’T YOU REMEMBER THE PLAGUE THAT WAS THE EIGHTIES?

NICK: OLIVER NORTH, VALLEY GIRLS, NEON CLOTHING–

NICK: – GLACIER GOGGLES AND LEG WARMERS, FOR CHRISSAKES–

Panel 4. Another angle. NICK reaches toward a rack of CD’s. From the kitchen, Joe the cook, is watching NICK ream into the customer further. He’s a stocky, Italian-chef-looking fellow.

NICK: …NEW KIDS ON THE MOTHER FUCKIN’ BLOCK.

NICK: SURE, IT STARTS WITH THIS! NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU GOT DURAN DURAN POSTERS COVERING YOUR WALLS.

NICK: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD?

Panel 5. Medium shot of NICK. He’s shoving a copy of “Toto IV” in the customer’s face.

NICK: JUST BUY THIS.

NICK: IT WAS “RECORD OF THE YEAR” TWENTY YEARS AGO.

NICK: SKIP “AFRICA,” THOUGH. IT’S A PIECE OF CRAP.